International Women's Day 2025: We Salute You!
by Kevin Wierzbicki
While they should be appreciated every single day, there's a special day for honoring the women of the world. This year International Women's Day falls on Saturday, March 8. For our part, here we look at the artistry of some of these women who are entertaining and making a difference through their music.
Jessie Baylin - Strawberry Wind - (LP on sherbet swirl colored vinyl, gatefold jacket)
Baylin begins
Strawberry Wind with the charming pop of "Dream Catcher," a cut that very much has the feeling of a hit from the 1960s. Jessie is clearly heavily influenced by this era as "Supermoon," "Strawberry Wind" and the exceptionally catchy "Sparkle Shoelace" all reflect a more innocent time. "It's the Summertime" is as bright and carefree as the title hints at as Baylin sings about having fun swimming, dancing and staying up late during the fleeting season, all set to a finger-snapping rhythm and a melody that's a bit Beatleseque at one point. A bit of orchestration introduces "I Am a Dreamer" which is perhaps a good description of the overall feel here as Baylin's endearing vocals draw the listener into her delightful fantasies throughout.
Moira Smiley - The Rhizome Project
On
The Rhizome Project Smiley presents an 11-song set of interpretations of folk songs of various vintages, all of which she says helped form the woman she is today and therefore her musical inclinations. Highlights are many, from her eerie cover of the traditional song "Go Dig My Grave" that opens the effort to the somber reading of the also traditional "My Son David" to a version of Jean Ritchie's "Now is the Cool of the Day" that, while understated, is extremely potent. Also included is a stellar take on the perky "Soul Cake," a cut co-written by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary fame that has also been covered by Sting.
Dekel - Starlings
Israeli singer begins her second album with the title cut, a song ostensibly about getting the harvest in but that can also be seen as being metaphor and about something greater. "Black Cat" is a buoyant dance number powered by accordion while "The Frog Prince" has dark overtones thanks to a cello part that presents a counterpoint to Dekel's lively storytelling. "Meet Me Halfway" has klezmer influences and is one of a couple songs on Starlings that sound distinctly Israeli. Dekel has a warm voice that is easy to get next to, making this a fine set of folk-leaning pop.
Carla Harvey - Kamama
Harvey is an Afro-Indigenous blues musician and she begins her debut album with "Native Scat," a stunning cut that reflects that heritage in song. The cut finds Harvey issuing wordless vocals, or "scat" singing; the chant is backed with a melody played on resonator guitar that seamlessly ties the blues to spiritual Indigenous music. Much of the rest of the album has an R&B or blues bent, like the tale of infidelity that is "Mean Old Woman," complete with hot guitar playing from Joe Louis Walker, the slow, crying blues of "Misery," and "Human Too," a bluesy observation of racial inequality that features guests Annika Chambers and Dave Keller. But there are more Native sounds too, like on the brief title cut "Kamama" and closing cut "Native Scat Reprise" where flute carries the melody.
